Shade Story Preview
by Rhiannon A. Christy
Summary: The Labyrinth is not the only kingdom in the Underground.Its people not the only creatures.North lies a land rich and fertile.Home to the Shades.After Sarah wanders through the Veil of the Shades, and finds herself captured. Eventually J/S preview only!


Chapter One; Little Red:

* * *

"Oh where the hell am I now? I should have listened to Macky, stupid, stupid!" Sarah leaned her back against the trunk of a rather rugged looking tree. Her feet hurt and her legs were scratched to the point of bleeding from all the underbrush.

All she had wanted was to spend a little time alone, just a quiet walk along the edges of the forest. She really should have listened to Macky. He had warned her about the denseness of the place, how easy it was too get lost. And that was just what she was at the moment; lost. When she finally got out of there she was going to hit him for being right. But first, she needed to find her way back to the small clearing where her boyfriend and his sister were waiting for her.

"Gah I think I passed that tree already…five freaking times!" She felt like screaming, this was suppose to be a relaxing weekend. She had taken a couple of personal days off from work; not that the bookstore really needed her there; and she had planned to spend the entirety of that time with Macky. Well and a good book and a box of chocolates.

Pulling herself away from the tree trunk she began moving again, hoping she was at least traveling in the right direction. The further she went the thicker the vegetation became. The air was so thick with the moist green scent of plants that Sarah could feel her stomach churn.

Soon the only sound around her was the crunching of the leaves and twigs beneath her feet; the forest was deadly quiet. She was sure this was anything but normal. No insect, no bird nor mammal made a whisper of a noise. She knew now that she had traveled in the wrong direction, yet for some reason she continued forward. It was almost a pull to the darkest part of the forest.

Stopping before two rather tall oak trees she gazed out ahead of her. The trees were not strange in the sense that they were malformed or anything. In fact they looked to be perfectly healthy trees. No, it was something about the faint shimmer coming from between the two.

Sarah believed it could have been a spider's web, catching what light the thick canopy allowed through. Though spider's webs were not solid, or black as night.

Carefully she extended a hand and grazed a finger along the shimmer; it felt cold and warm all at the same time. Step by step she moved forward, her arm still out in front of her. Slowly she was engulfed by the black mass till Sarah could no longer be seen.

With little more than a gasp she emerged on the other side. Her brow furrowed, it looked like a forest. Another damned forest!

"Damn it all to hell in a hand basket!!!" She stomped a few feet away from the oak trees and continued to curse her luck and her know-it-all boyfriend.

Just as she was getting to her more creative expletives she felt warm strong hands at her shoulders and the chilling feel of a blade at her neck. Just as she was about to scream there was a hard blow to her head and all went black.

* * *

The first thing that Sarah noticed was that her head hurt like hell. She reached behind her and just like she knew it would be there was a rather large goose egg beneath her chocolate hair. At least they hadn't broken skin, she couldn't feel any dried blood to indicate that they had.

The next thing was that she was lying on the ground. Had whomever attacked her simply left her in the middle of the forest? Without opening her eyes she reached into the pocket of her jeans searching for what might have been taken. It seemed to be everything as her hand encountered nothing. Well that was just great, she was stuck out in the middle of a forest, completely lost, with most likely a concussion and she had just been mugged.

"You know you might be able to move around better if you were to open your eyes." Her breath caught in her throat, hadn't she been alone a moment ago?

"Come on little one, I won't bite. I just need to check that nasty bump on your head. Now sit up for me." Trying to breathe, Sarah opened her eyes slowly. There before her, crouched down on the balls of his feet, was a rather rugged looking man. He had to be somewhere in his forties, about forty-seven she figured. Short shaggy brown hair, with just a dusting of silver. Eyes a honeyed amber, and so intense Sarah forgot to breathe while looking into him.

He appeared quite friendly and harmless, with the soft smile stretching the corners of his mouth upward. But Sarah knew appearances could be deceiving. There was something about him, a wildness in his eyes, feral and frightening.

"W-where am I?" Sarah bit her bottom lip harshly, ashamed that she could not keep the fear out of her voice. A soft chuckle came from the man, a sound that was almost a growl.

"A ways from where you are from. You have strayed too far from home Pup." Sarah only furrowed her brow. That was of no help at all, she already figured that one out.

"You are in the Cani forest, home of the Bleddyn." Yep, very far from home. What was it about Sarah that just seemed to attract all manner of strange things?

"The Bleddyn?" What had she stumbled upon now?

"You will find out about that later, first I really need to take a look at that bump. The guards are always a bit too enthusiastic….I'm Cyril by the way." Another charming smile spread across his lips as he helped Sarah sit up and began to part the hair from the injury.

"Sarah, my name is Sarah. Ow!" She jerked away just to be held fast as he continued to run his fingers over her scalp.

"Hold still, I can't help you if you are jumping about like a hare." Sarah could feel something wet and cool smooth over the bump, the pain instantly soothing away.

"There now, better isn't it? I will have to apply the cream a few more times before it is completely gone, but at least it shouldn't hurt now." A simple nod of her head indicated that she was indeed feeling better, her headache had even started to fade.

"I would suggest that you get a bit of rest, Conall will be wanting to see you once he returns." He stood and gathered a small leather pouch filled with small jars, tying it at his side.

"Who is Conall? Why would he want to see me?" Cyril's face became sober at her questions. Who was this Conall, that he could cause a look of worry on the sweet man's face?

"He is the one that will decide your fate. Now, rest, no need to undo what I just did." With that he left through a large wooden door, Sarah listening as the sound of locks clicking into place filled the room.

Decide her fate? What could they want with her?

* * *

The village was filled of whispers of the mortal girl that had crossed through the Gateway. All wanted to know how this pup had not only seen but managed to get through the veil that not even the fae could.

Conall was no exception. The Gateway had been created by the first of the Bleddyn thousands of years ago, spelled so no fae could cross or see it. It was a safe way for their kind to travel above without the worry of attack.

At the moment he stood within the village counsel hall awaiting the mortal girl. He paced back and forth before the long table that stood at one end of the room. He knew what the laws were for tresspassers, he had in the past had to inforce that law when young reckless fae thought they would try and capture one of the feared _"Shades."_ Though he douted that this pup had even known what she had done, who they were. Or that she meant harm.

His thoughts were interrupted when the large door to the hall main room was thrust open and a young woman; for this is what she was; was shoved almost into him.

She stood maybe a good foot shorter than him, her hair the color of willow bark and eyes as green as fern leaf. Her skin was fair with only the smallest touch of sun. She could have almost passed for a fae.

He nodded towards the two men who had brought her, dismissing them so he could speak to this mortal pup alone.

"Do you know where you are mortal?" Sarah rubbed at her right arm where the largest of her guards had squeezed just a little too hard, she knew it would be purple within the hour.

"Not exactly, Cyril said something about the Cani forest, but I have no idea where or what that is." Conall just nodded, this was what he thought.

"You have not come to harm our village?" Sarah looked shocked, did she look dangerus?

"Why would I want to harm your village, I don't even know where I am…or who you are. I got lost. I was having a picnic with my boyfriend and took a walk in the forest. I didn't listen and went in too far and got myself lost.

"One minute I am trying to get back to the park and the next I find myself here." Conall raised an eyebrow at that.

"So you don't remember how you got here, nothing at all?" She bit her lip, ok maybe that was a bit of a lie. But she had stopped trying to explain everything weird that happened to her after her parents threatened to ship her off to a hospital because of her stories of the Labyrinth.

"Well, ok I do remember this weird shimmering black….veil would be the only word I can find….between two trees. I don't know why I touched it, much less why I crossed it. It sort of…called to me I guess." The eyebrow raised even more upon Conall's face. Mortals were not suppose to be able to see the doorway, even if one were to he doubted that they would have been as calm about it as this pup was.

"You say a veil, why would you use such a term?" He watched her closely. She had furrowed her brows at his question, as though what he asked was obvious.

"I won't pretend that something strange has not happened. One does not normally find shimmering black veils in the middle of forests. Then again one does not normally find them anywhere, let alone in the middle of a forest." Conall let out a soft chuckle. She was rather brash for a mortal pup, mostly one in her situation.

"You speak as though this does not surprise you." Sarah snorted, though quickly coughed to cover the gesture.

"When you have experienced what I have, nothing surprises you anymore. You could tell me that you were king of the vampires and I doubt I would even bat an eyelash." A lift of the corner of his lips was the only thing that showed his amusment at her statement.

"No, not vampires." There was laughter in his voice, but Sarah could not deduce whether it was directed at her or what she had said.

"So, Pup, why are you so unsurprised? Had a run in with the undead lately?" Sarah could not help the shiver that ran through her at the mere thought.

"If only, no let's say a rather foppish Goblin King. After encountering a singing and dancing man in tights, I rather find myself shocked by little." The Fae. So this girl had been touched, but she didn't smell tainted.

Conall had heard of the king she had spoken of. He normally kept to himself, never interfering with Bleddyn affairs. Even so Conall could not take chances with his people. She might not be yet tainted, but that didn't mean she was safe.

"I see. I take it you are not so fond of this Goblin King of your's." She rolled her eyes, did he have to phrase it that way?

"He is _NOT_ my Goblin King! And no I am not, as you say, fond of him. He stole my brother away and forced me to walk his labyrinth. So no, I could have gone without knowing him."

* * *

Author's Note: Ok not very long, but this is just a preview of one of the many Labbys I am working on. This is a sorry for all the slow updates. I should have an update for "The Fire Stone" soon actually.

This story?...It sort of just popped into my head and I will be posting it once I get it finished, which will be awhile, but thought all of ya might like a taste and know that while I have not had net that I have not been lazy.

**Disclaimer:** Nope! Sorry do not own it, though I wouldn't mind having Conall for myself.


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